Common Bond
by LostCauseProductions
Summary: Two children, both of whom have seen death and been given a second chance at life. Surely there must be a common bond between them. RinKohaku, not a romantic pairing.


_A/N: This is a collaboration between Therhoda and MsCongeniality that has been in the works for some time now. It's intended to be two chapters, and we figured that there was no point in holding on to part one while we finish hammering out the second half. _

_I think that this piece really represents two people whose skill sets complement one another coming together and hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. As always, my utmost thanks to Nabob for her impeccable beta-reading, and to Kagurathewind for providing another set of eyes and giving us both our story and chapter titles. :) _

* * *

The warm summer day had finally started to give way to dusk and activity in the small camp became more noticeable as the young girl bustled about preparing both her dinner and the fire to cook it on. Pausing in her activity, her face took on a fleeting hint of seriousness before she turned to the small youkai acting as both her companion and protector and asked, "Jaken-sama, do you know where Kohaku is?"

The toad turned back to the child, his eyes narrowing slightly and replied with a slight huff of annoyance, "You mean that human brat who tried to kill you? Why would I know where a worthless creature like that is?" He paused to square his shoulders and take a more imperious tone. "My Lord should never have saved such a devious brute in the first place."

Rin continued in her tasks, quietly responding to Jaken's words in a bright tone wholly unaffected by the disdain in his words. "I like Kohaku, Jaken-sama. He is kind and has lonely eyes." With that, she stood and moved away from the small firepit she'd prepared, already moving on to her next task. With a courtesy born of habit, she asked "Jaken-sama, could you please light the fire for me?"

Fixing the girl's back with a glare, Jaken gave a huff of annoyance and crossed his arms. To his mind, his expression alone should have indicated his disdain for such a request but the stupid child did not even respect him enough to wait for a reply to her request. A mere moment later however, new expressions began to flit across his face and by the time he'd begun considering Sesshoumaru's response to his refusing to help, he was already taking the few steps towards the fire pit. With a quiet exclamation of "Staff of Heads", he let forth a burst of flame sufficient to set the kindling alight.

He'd hardly seated himself again when his grumbling started anew. "To think that I have come to this, a babysitter for a human, only good for lighting cookfires! It is an insult to my Staff of Heads!"

"Jaken-sama," Rin quietly interrupted. The toad's eyes snapped up to fix on her as he realized that she had not heard a word of his tirade.

"What is it, you ungrateful wretch?"

If she noticed the toad's tone or the harsh nature of his words, or even the fact that he was suddenly waving his arms wildly for no good purpose, Rin gave no indication. She simply finished preparing her meal and began cooking it over the open flames.

"Jaken-sama, why didn't we bring Kohaku with us after Sesshoumaru-sama fixed him? He could have kept Rin company."

Once again crossing his arms and taking on his most arrogant tone, Jaken replied: "Simple! It was because he is no more than an unworthy human and Sesshoumaru-sama has no need of company like _that_."

Looking up from her cooking, a puzzled look briefly crossed Rin's features and she simply stated, "Rin is human."

The toad was silent for a moment, his mouth open slightly as he tried to formulate a response that wouldn't eventually result in him being hit in the head for insolence. Finally, he spit out a gruff: "That's different."

Before she could pin him down with another uncomfortable question or observation, Jaken stood and made his way towards a tall tree at the edge of the clearing. With only a few quiet mutters about peace and quiet, he settled back against the trunk and closed his eyes.

Her dinner finally ready, Rin sat down to her meal. No matter how much fun she had continuing to question Jaken once he got into this kind of mood, Rin's heart wasn't in it this time. Instead, as she ate, she continued to think about her friend and the last time she'd seen him.

-----(flashback)----------------------

_She wasn't supposed to be on the battlefield at all, but everything had happened so quickly that even Sesshoumaru-sama had been taken off guard and she'd nearly gotten caught up in the fray. _

_As it was she'd been separated from Sesshoumaru-sama and the main body of fighting, having initially taken refuge with the kitsune and Kagome. Then, when Kagome was called upon to start shooting her arrows, she and Shippou were protected by Kohaku who had arrived with Inuyasha and his friends rather than with Naraku's forces. That was, until the moment when the insects swarmed Kohaku._

_They came for him in a thick mass and for a few moments, it looked as though he were covered with the creatures from head to toe. Then, just as quickly, Kohaku fell to the ground like a limp doll and the insects sped away from him and towards Naraku. _

_She remembered how he'd looked as the life went out of his eyes and how she'd screamed. She** knew **what that felt like, how cold and empty it was, and knowing her friend was going to that dark place - it scared her._

_Suddenly, her Lord appeared at her side his clothes sullied with the blood of lesser youkai, but unruffled by the chaos around them. His calm voice speaking her name was all that it took to quiet her, then he drew the Tenseiga. She felt the pulse of the sword, like a beat of her heart. It reverberated through her entire being and she could almost feel it as Sesshoumaru-sama passed the sword above Kohaku's limp form. Then, she felt another pulse, another heartbeat and Kohaku's eyes opened once again. Her lord did not waste any more time than was necessary once he was sure the sword had done its job. He simply slid Tenseiga back into its sheath and returned to the thick of the action._

_When the battle was over, she thought Kohaku would be joining them. After all, when she'd been saved by Sesshoumaru-sama she had begun to travel with him afterwards, but nobody else seemed to think that at all. Sesshoumaru-sama simply left, forcing her and Jaken to follow, and Kohaku had simply stayed with Inuyasha's friends. Nobody had even said a word of farewell, though she thought that when she looked back over her shoulder, Kohaku might have been watching them walk away._

-----(end flashback)--------------------

Rin idly stoked the fire, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. All these months later, she _did_ wish that they'd taken Kohaku with them, or at least that she'd gotten a chance to talk to him after the battle because he _had_ been kind to her and he _had_ protected her.

A loud snore broke into her thoughts and drew her attention. A quick glance in the direction of the nearby tree showed that Jaken was heavily asleep despite it being early in the evening.

Rin smiled to herself, _'Jaken-sama will be asleep until morning; he would hardly even_ _notice if a Typhoon came through the area. If I gather my belongings quietly, I can head back towards where Sesshoumaru-sama smelled Inuyasha_ _the other day. I'm sure that if Inuyasha is there, then Kohaku will be also.'_

With a firm plan in mind, she stood and began cleaning the remains of her dinner. _'Yes,'_ she thought, _'I would very much like to see Kohaku again.'_


End file.
